Son of the Covenant
by RC927
Summary: [bad title I know] Akala Tusomee lost memory of all that had happened between her and that sub-commmander guy. All she knew was that she murdered him and was to be punished for doing so. However nobody could have expected the sudden twist in her fate, as well as her son's. Rated T for cursing, violence, gore, etc. [I'll be redrawing the cover eventually]


**Hello everybody!~ RC here!**

**I've decided to create a halo story (which this is actually one of many) and I hope this story will be quite a large one. I've already written several chapters on paper and I'm in the process of typing up Chapter 2 as you are probably reading this haha!**

**Feel free to leave a comment and point out any mistakes I made. Also note that I do not own the Halo: Graphic Novel and I haven't read any of it, so all I have as a source is the Halo Wiki for the mission and characters that 343 Studios/Bungie owns.**

**The only things I own are Akala and whatever characters that aren't mentioned in the game. C:**

**I hope you enjoy the story and thanks for at least reading this far xD**

**_|THIS IS A LINE BREAK|_**

_Two months…Two months since I've been locked up in here…_

Akala sighed, she was curled up in a ball in the far corner of her cell. Wearing only her body suit, her crimson armor lay in a neat pile in another corner. Her body was small, but that was to be expected in her case. She was, after all, a female.

The sangheili shivered. The cell block was cold, and she was never good with the cold. Hopefully she'll be taken out of here and tried for her crime that she had committed a little more than two months ago. Her team of minors had been devastated when they learned of what had happened.

Her crime, she couldn't remember many of the details. Only that it involved a Special Operations Recon Sub-Commander and somehow she was able to kill him, but as to why, she couldn't recall. She blamed the fight she had between herself and the Sub-commander.

There was a beep and a hiss as the plasma door to her cell opened up to reveal a brute guard.

"Get up Prisoner." It growled.

"I don't take orders from your kind, monster." She spat back hatefully.

She didn't struggle when the brute entered her cell and jerked her to her feet by her arm. This was an everyday thing for her, rebelling against the brutes. It was, to an extent, fun.

"So, two months in a cell and I'm suddenly being escorted somewhere. Any idea what for, considering your tiny brain can even recall your own orders?" She growled.

The brute snarled and jerked at her arm, but kept his eyes ahead. "The Holy Prophets of Truth, Regret, and Mercy have gathered the council to attend your hearing." He grinned, "Odds are, you're going to die this night and I will not have to deal with you anymore."

Akala sighed. "I figured as much."

Her mind went to her team now. The group of four youths that had yet to even bloody their blades that she had been in charge of. Eroh was the eldest and held the opportunity as the new leader of the team due to being there the longest. Vori and Trok were the twin brothers on the team. They loved to prank Eroh every time they got the chance, though in this time they would most likely focus on having a new leader. She hoped they wouldn't be blinded by grief at the loss of their former leader. Lastly there was Saan, the second-youngest in the team and was the favorite of Akala's. She clearly remembered how he was when he joined the team: thin and tall. After a few months of training, however, he could wrestle a brute and win in a matter of moments.

She would miss them dearly, but not as much as her son, Koida.

Akala let her head drop slightly. Fifteen years ago, she had learned of her husbands death at the hands of the humans. Koida was just old enough to do field work at the time and was devastated at the news. It was then, that she had decided to join the ranks of the covenant, leaving her 7-year-old son in the care of her older brother Iver, who had to retire due to a battle injury. She hoped that they would not grieve too much over her death.

"We're here." The brute grunted.

The doors to the council room hissed open and Akala felt all eyes on her form as the brute nearly dragged her in. She noted that most of the councilors were Sangheili like herself. Perhaps she could talk her way out of death yet. She lifted her head high as a glimmer of hope rose in her chest.

Mercy, the eldest of the three prophets, rose his hand and the hushed whispers of the councilors ceased.

"Akala Tsomee, do you know why you are here?" Truth asked.

"I murdered the second commander of a Special Operations team." She answered simply, daring to stare the prophet in the eye.

"Do you care to plead your case then?"

"Guilty. I will accept any punishment you give me."

The councilors began to whisper again in shock at how easily she accepted her fate. Meanwhile she stood there, as tall as she could manage, staring at the prophets coldly. She knew that the detail she left out would make no difference of whether she lived or died.

The Prophets mumbled to themselves as they determined the terms of her death and Akala looked around the room. Rtas Vadumee, the commander of the Special Operations team, stood in a high row with his arms folded against his chest as he glared right at her.

Next to him was the Supreme Commander, Thel Vadamee, in his purple colored armor and cloak with a look of disapproval on his face as he stared at her. His arms were folded too and she watched as he leaned over to mutter something to Rtas.

"Well," Truth started "We have discussed the terms of your execution. In conclusion, the terms of your punishment will be-"

"Wait!"

All eyes turned to the doors of the council room, which had opened already and there stood a group of elites.

Eroh, with his new looking red armor on, stomped in with the twins and Saan behind him.

"What is the meaning of this interruption?" Regret demanded angrily.

"Holy Prophets, I have proof that my ex-commander is rightly justified!" Eroh shouted.

"Is that so?" Regret leaned forwards in his hover seat. "Very well, speak."

Eroh bowed his head in thanks. "Many thanks, Holy Prophets. Myself and the others know Tsomee very well. We also know for a fact that she would never kill one of our own kind without provocation or without good reason. Saan and I had our suspicions, so we did some research-"

"Holy Prophets! Surely you are not going to listen to a major domo and a group of minors who have yet to barely bloody their blades!" Rtas snarled.

"Calm yourself Commander." Akala blinked and looked to Thel as he quieted Rtas. Even he seemed to be somewhat interested in this event now. He nodded to Eroh. "Continue."

"Many thanks your Excellency." Eroh said. "We did some research on the deceased sub-commander with the help of a friend of mine in Recon. What we discovered was… shocking, to say the least."

Saan stepped forwards. "The sub-commander had ongoing ties to the heretic cause. He had transactions with the Pirates who were dealing with humans and their modified weapons." He growled.

"I had found my sub-commander just before he passed! He had said that Tsomee was the heretic!" Rtas pointed at Akala accusingly.

"He lied." Eroh said simply.

"Blasphemy!" Rtas slammed his fist on the metallic half-wall in front of him and the crowd, in response, began growling amongst each other in anger at the boldness of Eroh's accusation.

Mercy slammed his fist on the arm of his chair. "There will be order in this council!"

The council then became suddenly quiet as the talking and growling died away. Akala shifted on her feet with her hands behind her back.

"So, tell us major, what does this information have to do with our accused?" Truth asked.

"Akala had her suspicions and did some investigating herself I assume. When the sub-commander was questioned by her, they fought. He pinned it on her, thinking he could save his hide." Eroh growled.

"And why did this information not come up during the beginning of her trial?" Regret questioned.

"Memory loss, holy Prophets." Akala answered hesitantly.

"From the fight most likely. I read the report in the infirmary on her injuries and it mentioned a few bruises on her head when she was found unconscious at the fight scene." Eroh folded his arms.

The councilors all whispered to each other once more and Rtas looked dumbfounded. The Supreme Commander looked mildly impressed. Akala watched as the prophets talked among themselves for a few moments.

Finally, Truth spoke.

"In light of this new evidence, Akala Tsomee's life will be spared. However, confronting a covenant loyalist being accused of heresy without superior orders is unacceptable. Tsomee, you already agreed to your punishment, and we have decided your fate."

The air became dramatically silent as Truth paused.

"You will be put under the command of Rtas Vadumee as the new member of his team. Whatever he chooses to do with you will be pardoned, however you cannot be killed."

"What?!" Both Akala and Rtas yelped.

"This hearing is concluded. You are all dismissed."

**_|BREAK|_**

"This is where you'll stay. Don't get too comfortable. Your training will start in just a few hours."

Akala snorted as Rtas led her into the teams quarters. There were six beds lined and in the back end was probably storage or bathrooms. A few elites looked up from whatever it was they were doing and looked among each other in slight confusion.

"Commander, who is this?" One of the taller elites asked as he went back to polishing his ebony helmet.

"Our new recruit. Akala Tsomee." Rtas growled as he shoved her into the room.

"Pardon? Isn't she the one who killed the sub-commander?" Another male asked.

"She is. Although some new… information has come up, and she has been added to our team by the will of the Prophets. However, I am to do what I wish to her as long as she is not killed." With that, Rtas turned and left with his hands folded behind his back.

The team was stunned into silence as Akala stood there awkwardly. The first to speak was the one polishing his helmet.

"Better be ready then. Rtas's training is tough, and with the fact that you killed a close friend of his, I'm sure he'll be even tougher with you." He grumbled. "Name's Bero Kusovai. Or just Kusovai. Whatever suits you."

She remained silent for a moment before she bowed her head. "I suppose I won't be accepted here so easily. However, I assume you do not know the news?"

"We don't. Mind filling us in?" Kusovai asked.

"…Apparently your sub-commander had ties to the Pirates dealing modified weapons to the humans and I confronted him." She said quietly. "I did not remember this due to the fight. I lost all memory of my drive to kill him until my good friend told us."

The group stared at her in shock and she lowered her head.

"It is the truth." She muttered.

"…I see… That is a shame, but if that information is true, then I suppose we have to thank you for perusing him." Kusovai sighed.

Akala looked up at him and nodded. "So… which bed is mine?" She asked.

Kusovai chuckled.

**_|ANOTHER BREAK|_**

_Six months…Has it really been that long?_

Akala stared at her reflection in the black helmet. She had been in the middle of polishing it when the thought struck her. Six months of being with the Recon team. She wondered if Iver and Koida knew of this. Was her son proud of her?

She felt a pang then, in her heart. Her son would be almost old enough to join the ranks of the covenant by now. Just in a few seasons she bet. He would bring honor to her and his families.

"Staring into space again hm?"

The voice startled her out of her thoughts and she looked up at Kusovai silently. He was leaning in the doorway of the quarters with his arms folded, an amused look on his face.

"I suppose so." She chuckled. "Do you need something?"

"Yes, Rtas wants all of us in the briefing room as soon as possible. Something important if all of us are going." He grumbled. "The Supreme Commander is supposed to be there too."

"Oh wonderful." Akala said sarcastically. "Alright. I'm coming." She then put her helmet on and stood. Kusovai waited for her to get the rest of her armor on and they walked out together to the briefing room. The walk wasn't a very long one, and it was silent as they hurried along. They were the last ones there and they took their spots in the team as Rtas and the Supreme Commander waited.

"…Now that you are all present, we will go over our mission objectives." Rtas grumbled.

"…We have received a distress signal from the Infinite Succor. They have been boarded and we suspect it to be humans. The demon is suspected to be on board as well. Your first priority is to kill it. Your second priority is to rescue the Legate on-board and take back the ship. We have received no further contact from the Legate, so you must be quick." The Supreme Commander said with his hands folded behind his back.

"Aye your Excellency. We will depart immediately." Rtas said.

The two commanders put their fists over their chests and bowed their heads in a salute before Rtas led the team out to the hangar where their phantoms awaited. They were assigned a team of about seven Grunts as well to accompany them on the trip. The ride was rather silent and Akala looked around at the rest of her team.

Firstly there was Kusovai. He was lean and tall, even for an elite. His skin was dark, and his eyes were deep amber. He was particularly skilled with dual wielding energy swords. Next was Kor. He was lightly skinned and somewhat short, about her height and he was the hot-headed one. Saol was the quiet and brooding one. He was smart, though she never really ever saw him smile or laugh before. Lastly there was Naasr. He was the newest one now by about two months, the previous one had been killed on a mission concerning a small human group and he had let his guard down. The team had mourned shortly after, but such things couldn't be dealt with for too long.

They were about half way there when Naasr shuffled his feet. Muttering something about having a bad feeling. Akala had to admit, she felt it too somewhat. An odd foreboding.

"You feel it too huh?" She heard him ask.

"Yeah…" She muttered back, shifting her weight to her other leg.

The phantom fell quiet again until they arrived and instantly they were met with a rather gruesome sight. Everyone there was dead. Torn apart, bullet holes in their hides and there was an odd green slime on the walls that smelled of-

"Smells like death mixed with brute dung." Kor squinted his eyes in distaste.

Saol nodded in agreement and Rtas looked around. Everyone was obviously uncomfortable here.

"Come, we need to find out what did this…" He grumbled.

With that, the team searched the ship until they came to the large doors of the hunting reserve. Usually the reserves were used to hunt fresh meat from the creatures that lived inside. Occasionally, high ranking elites would go on hunting parties simply for the thrill of the hunt. The doors were, like nearly everything else, covered in slime.

"Get these doors open." Rtas ordered to Kor and Saol.

As the two began to melt the thick doors, Kusovai walked off and growled from a few meters away in confusion.

"Commander…I am having my doubts that humans were the cause of this." He announced.

"What makes you say that..?" Rtas walked to where Kusovai stood, and in a smaller hallway, was several bodies of Huragok, the bulging purple aliens that usually dealt with technology and the such. They were rarely ever killed by humans.

"Humans don't kill them, so something else must have come through here, using human weapons…" Kusovai growled.

Finally the doors were open and the group walked inside the hunting reserve. Akala glanced at her radar and noticed just one large life form up ahead. Okay, large was an understatement, this thing was downright huge!

"We're going to flank it. Stay quiet." Rtas growled under his breath.

The entire team split into two parts and approached the life form. Akala made a note that these hunting grounds were devoid of any life, save for the one life form. Upon laying eyes on it through some foliage, a wave of confusion, fear, and curiosity washed over her momentarily. The creature was unlike anything she had ever seen. Its body was bulging and green-brown ooze seeped out of its skin. It somewhat resembled a predator of the hunting ranges, only larger and sickly looking.

There was a snap from the other side of the monster and she would have laughed at the cursing of a grunt if not for the monster suddenly springing to attack the group. It was at this moment when all hell broke loose.

Shouting, the group fired at the thing and Akala glanced at her radar to see many little dots coming towards them quickly. She turned around and fired at the first wave that flanked them and Kusovai turned to fire at the approaching targets as well. They seemed easy to kill, but there were so many of them!

There was a shout after some larger targets came in and somehow were able to wield human weaponry, one fired at a grunt who dropped an armed plasma grenade. The grenade exploded, sending two other grunts and Naasr into the air. The grunts lay unmoving as the parasites crawled over them and one of the smaller ones buried itself into the -somehow- still living Naasr. He gave a roar of agony as the parasite embedded itself into his chest and he began to mutate rapidly as his body writhed on the floor.

As soon as the transformation was over, the body stood up and Akala almost became frozen in horror. Her former teammates neck was bent at an odd angle so that the head was slung over the shoulder blades and one of his arms was made into a pointed claw. The rest of his body was made of the same bulbous mass that was on the first monster they encountered. The monster groaned as it righted itself and after it gained balance, it charged at the team.

Rtas quickly cut the zombie down with his sword and then headed for the door. "Run! Unless you want to become whatever these things are!"

Akala wasted no time as she followed her commander out of the hunting reserve and through the hallways. They came into contact with many more parasites, nearly lost another sangheili, and another unggoy was killed on the way to the bridge of the ship. When they got there, everyone was nearly out of breath and Akala watched as Rtas and Kusovai locked the doors to the bridge before the parasite could intrude.

"This is madness! Commander, what should be done?" Saol growled.

"The fleet must be warned, and this ship needs to go down. Even if it means we go with it." Rtas huffed.

The team fell silent. Akala let those words sink in and she thought of her son, A major-domo, and just recently promoted as well. What would he think of this possible one-way-trip, she wondered. Her hand clenched around her plasma rifle as she glared at the floor. It shouldn't matter what her son thought.

"The parasite needs to be exterminated. There is no other way…" She muttered, getting nods of agreement from the others and a respectful look from Rtas.

"Kusovai, set the codes for the self destruct sequence. I will contact the fleet and let them know what is happening." Rtas ordered.

Akala waited as Rtas contacted the fleet master and informed him of the situation and what was happening on the ship currently. The Supreme commander was shocked to say the least at the news. The connection between Rtas and the Supreme commander was still going when Kusovai snarled.

"What?! The codes have already been overridden! I can't set them!" He shouted angrily.

"That is because I already disabled those systems onboard this ship" The screen at the front of the room flickered to life and the Minister of Etiology came onto the screen.

"Minister.. You must re-enable them!" Rtas growled.

Akala felt her temper rise when the Minister refused to do so. She had heard rumors about this self-centered Legate, and so far, they proved to be true.

"Legate, we must get off of this ship, and this ship destroyed by the fleet!" Rtas demanded, clenching his fists in irritation.

"Yes, I agree with you Commander. However how do I know you and your crew are not infected yourselves?"

"We are not infected, I assure you that!" Kusovai growled.

"I refuse to take the chance. There is a nearby area where you can be checked for the parasite's presence. I suggest you go there and do not contact me until you get there." With that, the legate cut the transmission and Rtas growled to himself.

"Commander.. Do we go?" Saol asked.

Rtas was silent for a moment before he nodded and looked to everyone. "Yes. The ship is long gone, but the Legate is still alive and we must ensure his safety."

"I am with you, Commander." Akala saluted and the others nodded in agreement.

"…Very well. Lets get this door open again then. We must head to the clinic, and by the time we are off this ship, the parasite will be destroyed!" Rtas threw his fist up in the air and the rest of the team followed suit, giving growls and shouts of approval.

Akala felt her hearts race and she wondered if she will get to see her son once again…

**_|END CHAPTER ONE|_**

**If anyone is annoyed by my little break things, be sure to let me know and I'll find a way to change them. but they're mainly to separate the different sections of the story, usually if there's a skip in time as it goes from one scene to another. :3 thanks for reading and don't forget to Favorite and Follow the story as well as leave a comment if you liked it! :D**


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